Gave it a miss, actually. I've been before, but it's not really my thing.

We parked way up north of campus, hoofed it down, made the the stadium about ten minutes before kickoff, and then hoofed it back so we could get home, cleaned up, and make a 6pm reservation at Alana's with my wife and my friends' father, who were on kid duty all day.

I did have a flask of bourbon, though, so it's not like I sat through the whole game without liquid longjohns.

So you are a member of the Vermin. Enjoy it while you can, because Coach Rod will have the Maize and Blue a whole lot better next season. I still think that the B*cke*es could have beaten PSU if Tressel hadn't stuck with Prior the whole game.

Moose: I've been digging Alana's since it opened. My absolute favorite restaurant in the city. The only sad thing is that Alana herself seems to have mellowed over the years. 5-6 years ago, you could go there and almost bet on her screaming at someone in the kitchen or, less frequently but more than you'd think, a customer in the dining room.

I was never on the wrong side of the soup Nazi stuff so it was OK, but I've heard stories. Great food then and now, however.

Marc: I really don't take it all that seriously, but if it makes you feel better to go all rivalry on us, be my guest. For what it's worth (and despite my mild taunting), I generally prefer the rivalry to be evenly matched and expect that it will see-saw back the other way in time.

I'm guessing that given the ties you have to both sides of this rivalry, this is being written somewhat tongue-in-cheek.

For all the talk about Rodriguez bringing in a new exciting offense, that team has some serious problems on the other side of the ball. Maybe I'm too used to the NFL, but when a team goes 91 yards by running the exact same play back-to-back, that's some serious work they have to do on defense.

Only slightly tongue in cheek. There was a time a long time ago when I would go crazy over this game. And by most sane people's definition, I suppose I still am a tad crazy about college football. But living in Columbus and seeing the level of unhealthy obsession, I vowed a long time ago never to get that way.

I root for Ohio State. I grumble when they lose, and I'm happy when they win. I do not, however, allow my mood to be affected by the outcome of college football games beyond the day they are played. When OSU was destroyed by first Florida and then LSU, I was fine by the time I woke up the next morning. The same can't be said by a lot of people in these parts.

If, the day after a game, I am either reveling in the victory or wallowing in defeat, you can be 100% certain that I'm kinda going through the motions on that stuff.

Craig, I was at the OSU-Michigan game in 2002 (my first year of grad school at OSU). I've been to many sporting events, but that is one I will never forget. The emotion at that game was incredible. The whole stadium was waiting for Michigan to ruin our season, like they had always done in the 90s, and when the game finally ended the crowd went crazy. I stormed the field with my buddies and still have my piece of the turf from that game (can't do that any more with the turf).

I was also at the 2006 game when it was #1 v. #2. That game was great, but the atmosphere was different than in '02. We were used to Tressel's domination of Michigan and were confident of a victory. It was a great game but not as memorable as '02. Of course, that season didn't end as well, either.

2002 was special. Though I didn't go to the game, I was in Columbus, and it was wild. Lasting image was on the front page of the paper the next day: Krenzel on the shoulders of some fans, a single figure in a scarlet jerey surrounded by thousands of people, every single one of them smiling. It was a striking picture, and I'd hope that Krenzel has it framed in something like 22x36" over his desk at whatever white collar job he's working these days.